And, here's the answer. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, at a time when trillions of dollars in wealth have left the pockets of the middle class and have gone to the top one-tenth of one percent, at a time when the wealthiest people in this country have made huge amounts of money from risky derivative transactions and the soaring value of the stock market, we will pay for this legislation by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculation.
Again, this is not a radical idea. More than 1,000 economists have endorsed a tax on Wall Street speculation and today some 40 countries throughout the world have imposed a similar tax including Britain, Germany and France.
In 2008, the taxpayers of America bailed out Wall Street. Now, it's Wall Street'sturn to rebuild the middle class by making sure that everyone can get a decent education.
And if my conservative colleagues tell you that the cost of making public colleges and universities tuition free and cutting student debt in half at a federal cost of $569 billion over ten years is too expensive, ask them why they support President Trump's budget which would provide $1.9 trillion in tax breaks to the top 1 percent. Those are the national priorities we are now dealing with. We can spend $569 billion over ten years to make sure that every middle-class family in this country can provide a higher education for their kids, or we can give three times that amount in tax breaks to the top one percent. I know what side I am on.
Let me be very clear. We can win this fight. Public sentiment is on our side. The American people understand the need for this legislation. But we will not win unless millions of Americans, especially young people, stand up, fight back and demand that this legislation be passed. That means you.
As a United States senator I can tell you that real change never takes place unless it comes from the grassroots, from the bottom on up. Left alone, Congress and the White House will listen to their billionaire friends on Wall Street and in corporate America, to the lobbyists and the big campaign contributors.
If we're going to win this fight your voices are needed, not only on the more than 500 campuses watching this event tonight, but from every university, college, junior college and apprenticeship program in America.
Tonight, I am asking you to act. The College for All Act I introduced with seven of my colleagues in the Senate and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal introduced in the House of Representatives with 35 cosponsors, needs more support. This bill would make public colleges and universities tuition free for most students and cut interest rates on student debt in half.
Tonight, I am asking you to please call your member of the Senate. Ask if they are a cosponsor of S. 806. Also call your member of the House of Representatives and ask if they are a cosponsor of HR 1880. If not, ask them to sign onto the bill. Tell them your story, what this bill would mean to you and why they must support it.
You can invite your U.S. senators or members of Congress to your campus to talk about the high cost of higher education and what student debt means to you. On Election Day they want your vote. Now, tell them what you need, in person. That's called democracy.
But there is more to do than simply advocating for the College for All Act. We have got to work together to build a movement. And that can start on your campus through your action.
You can:
Start a conversation with your friends about the cost of college and the need to make public colleges and universities tuition free. Engage with local high school students and parents on this issue.
Ask your student government to pass a resolution in support of tuition free public college and urge the administration and board of trustees of your school to do the same.
Ask your governor and state legislature to get moving on this issue. A number of states are already doing that. Is yours? Is it more important to give tax breaks to the rich, or build more jails, or should we be making public colleges and universities tuition free?
There are many ways you can get involved and participate in this movement. And it's up to you to decide what actions will be most effective on your campus and in your community.
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